Kavita Seth Songs: 14 Tracks From Maula On

The best Kavita Seth songs, from Iktara and Tumhi Ho Bandhu to Rangi Saari, Rangisari and Bandhu 2.0, plus her Sufi albums and 2026 releases.

Key facts

Born: Kavita Seth was born on 14 September 1970 in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh.
Debut: Her playback debut was Maula (Zindagi Ko Maula) in Satish Kaushik's Vaada (2005).
Filmfare: She has won Filmfare Best Female Playback Singer twice: for Iktara (2010) and Rangisari (2023).
Rangi Saari: The original Rangi Saari with Kanishk Seth was released independently in 2020 and had over 22 million Spotify streams before Jugjugg Jeeyo.
2026: Bandhu 2.0 from Cocktail 2 came out on 17 June 2026, and her self-released single Qaraar on 19 June 2026.

The best Kavita Seth songs to start with are Iktara, Tumhi Ho Bandhu, Rangisari, Jeete Hain Chal and Mujhe Mat Roko, followed by her original 2020 Rangi Saari with her son Kanishk Seth, Murabba, Prem Mein Tohre and her 2026 film song Bandhu 2.0. Kavita Seth is a Sufi, ghazal and playback singer from Bareilly who has won the Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer twice, for Iktara in 2010 and Rangisari in 2023.

She also releases a steady stream of her own music. Since 2020 most of her non-film songs, including Rangi Saari, carry a (P) Kavita Seth line on Apple Music. This guide takes 14 songs and releases in order, from her 2005 playback debut to the self-released Qaraar in June 2026.

At a glance

Born: 14 September 1970 in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh (Wikipedia).
Known for: Sufi music, ghazals and Hindi film playback. She leads a Sufi group called the Karwaan Group (Wikipedia).
Awards: Filmfare Best Female Playback Singer for Iktara (Wake Up Sid, 2009) and Rangisari (Jugjugg Jeeyo, 2022). Iktara also won her the Screen Award (Wikipedia).
Family: her sons Kavish Seth and Kanishk Seth are musicians who perform with her (Wikipedia).
Own releases: Trance With Khusrow (2014), Main Kavita Hoon (2020), Rangi Saari (2020) and the Dil Safar EP (2026) all carry a (P) Kavita Seth line (Apple Music).
Latest: Bandhu 2.0 from Cocktail 2 (17 June 2026) and the self-released single Qaraar (19 June 2026) (Apple Music).

Who Kavita Seth is

Wikipedia says she was born in Bareilly into a middle class family, the daughter of a bank officer and a homemaker. She sings geet, ghazals and folk songs as well as Sufi music, and has performed in London, Birmingham, Scotland, Berlin, Oslo and Stockholm. She also composes. She wrote three songs for the 2009 film Yeh Mera India and co-composed music for My Friend Pinto and Cigarette Ki Tarah.

Her film career began by chance. Director Satish Kaushik heard her at Muzaffar Ali's International Sufi Festival in Delhi and offered her a song in Vaada (2005), after which she moved to Mumbai, according to Wikipedia. Her husband K. K. Seth died on 15 December 2011.

1. Maula (2005)

Maula, from the Amisha Patel film Vaada (2005), was her debut as a playback singer. Wikipedia names the song both as Maula and Zindagi Ko Maula. It is the song that took her from the Sufi stage to Hindi cinema.

2. Mujhe Mat Roko (2006)

Mujhe Mat Roko is from Anurag Basu's Gangster (2006), and Wikipedia says she received praise for it. It was her second film song, and Wikipedia links it with her move to Mumbai.

3. Iktara (2009)

Iktara is the Kavita Seth song most people know. It is from Wake Up Sid (2009), sung with Amitabh Bhattacharya, written by Javed Akhtar and guest-composed by Amit Trivedi, and released by Sony Music India, according to Wikipedia. The song is picturised on Ranbir Kapoor and Konkona Sen Sharma.

It won four awards, according to Wikipedia, including the Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer at the 55th Filmfare Awards. Radio and Music lists it first in its round-up of her best songs.

4. Kabirana Sufiana and Bulleh Shah (2010)

In 2010 Virgin Records India released two Sufi albums, Kabirana Sufiana and Bulleh Shah By Kavita Seth, each with eight tracks (Apple Music). They are the place to go if you want to hear her as a Sufi singer rather than a film voice. Wikipedia also lists Sufiana, a set of couplets by the poet Rumi that was launched at the Khaman Pir Ka Dargah in Lucknow.

5. Tumhi Ho Bandhu (2012)

Tumhi Ho Bandhu is from Cocktail (2012). Its Spotify listing credits Pritam, Neeraj Shridhar, Kavita Seth and Irshad Kamil, and Wikipedia notes Filmfare and Mirchi Music Award nominations for her. It is also one of the top Google suggestions for her name, alongside Jeete Hain Chal and Iktara.

6. Murabba (2013)

Murabba is a duet from the film Bombay Talkies (2013). Wikipedia lists it in her playback credits as Murabba (Duet).

7. Trance With Khusrow (2014)

Trance With Khusrow is a ten-track album released on 14 October 2014 under (P) 2014 Kavita Seth (Apple Music). It is one of the clearest examples of her independent work, and its title points to the Sufi poet Amir Khusrow. In 2018 The Hindu described her son Kanishk Seth marrying Khusrow's poetry with electronic music and trance, and quoted him saying he grew up waking to his mother practising ghazals and Sufi music at home.

8. Jeete Hain Chal (2016)

Jeete Hain Chal, from Neerja (2016), is the first song Google suggests after her name. It is listed in her Wikipedia playback credits for 2016, four years after Tumhi Ho Bandhu.

9. Prem Mein Tohre (2017)

Prem Mein Tohre is from the film Begum Jaan (2017). Wikipedia lists the title as Prem Mai Tohre, and Radio and Music includes it in its list of her best songs. Her other 2017 film song is Maa Aise Hi from Maatr.

10. Rangi Saari (2020)

Rangi Saari is her biggest independent release. It came out on 24 April 2020 under (P) 2020 Kavita Seth (Apple Music), credited to Kanishk Seth and Kavita Seth. Hindustan Times describes it as a contemporary take on the late classical singer Shobha Gurtu's Rangi Saari.

Kanishk told Rolling Stone India that the song was first meant for a film in 2017, after director Shashank Khaitan heard it and suggested a duet, but it was not used, so they released it themselves in 2020. It picked up slowly, he said, and then took off on Instagram Reels. For the full story of the song and its roots, read our guide to Rangi Saari's origin and meaning.

11. A Suitable Boy (2020)

In 2020 she composed for the BBC series A Suitable Boy with Alex Heffes and Anoushka Shankar, and sang the songs of Tabu's character, according to Wikipedia. The songs include Lutf Woh Ishq Mein, Mehfil Barkhaast Hui, Muddat Hui Hai and Dil-E-Nadaan. The same year she released Main Kavita Hoon, an eight-track album under (P) 2020 Kavita Seth (Apple Music).

12. Rangisari (2022)

Rangisari, the version of Rangi Saari made for Dharma Productions' Jugjugg Jeeyo, was released by T-Series on 6 June 2022 (Apple Music). Rolling Stone India reported that by then the original had passed 22 million streams on Spotify and 12 million on YouTube, and that the Seths signed a direct sync deal with Dharma rather than with the label. Kanishk explained that they made a new, slightly changed master that Dharma owns, while the family kept the original.

Rangisari won her a second Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer in 2023, and Wikipedia credits Kavita and Kanishk Seth as its music directors.

13. Khumaari (2025)

Khumaari is from Kesari Chapter 2 (2025). Wikipedia lists her as a singer on the song and as a music director on the film along with Kanishk Seth.

14. Bandhu 2.0, Dil Safar and Qaraar (2026)

Her 2026 releases split neatly into film and independent work. Bandhu 2.0, from Cocktail 2, came out on 17 June 2026 through Sony Music India and is credited to Pritam, Kavita Seth, Neeraj Shridhar and Irshad Kamil, the same four names credited on the 2012 Tumhi Ho Bandhu (Apple Music, Spotify). It already appears in Google's suggestions for her name.

On her own she released the four-track Dil Safar EP on 13 February 2026 and the single Qaraar on 19 June 2026, both under a (P) Kavita Seth line (Apple Music). For more Hindi independent songs in the same spirit, see our list of Hindi indie songs, and for Sufi music with a band, our guide to Sufi rock bands in India.

FAQ

What are Kavita Seth's most famous songs?

Her best known songs are Iktara from Wake Up Sid, Tumhi Ho Bandhu from Cocktail, Rangisari from Jugjugg Jeeyo and Jeete Hain Chal from Neerja. Her independent Rangi Saari with Kanishk Seth is her biggest non-film song.

Who are Kavita Seth's sons?

Her sons are the musicians Kavish Seth and Kanishk Seth. Kanishk is credited with her on Rangi Saari and co-composed Rangisari for Jugjugg Jeeyo.

Which awards has Kavita Seth won?

She has won the Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer twice, for Iktara in 2010 and Rangisari in 2023. Iktara also won her the Screen Award for Best Female Playback.

Who sang Bandhu 2.0 in Cocktail 2?

The Cocktail 2 single is credited to Pritam, Kavita Seth, Neeraj Shridhar and Irshad Kamil, the same names as the original Tumhi Ho Bandhu from 2012. Sony Music India released it on 17 June 2026.